A Cruel and Deadly Beauty
by RemiScarlet58
Summary: Before the events of Kirby: Triple Deluxe, the People of the Sky lived in harmony under their kind Queen. But when the Queen begins to become a beauty-obsessed tyrant, the People of the Sky must decide whether to become traitors to the crown, or live in fear for the rest of their lives...


In a land far above Dream Land, there was a realm called Floralia. It was composed of six floating islands, each vastly different from the last. Many creatures inhabited these islands. Most of these creatures could also be found in Dream Land-which Floralians referred to as the 'lower world'-such as Bronto Burts, Grizzos, and Waddle Dees. But there were also quite a number of species that could only be found in Floralia, such as the bell-like Ringle, or the shifty Spynum. But the main inhabitants of this realm were small, flying creatures known as the People of the Sky.

The species was exclusively female, reproducing asexually, and each wore a dress made of leaves and a flower on their heads. They did not have legs; instead, they flew by utilizing the power of the sun into an energy they used to levitate. They had two limbless hands and pale faces. These fair creatures were one of the two dominant species, the other being small, round, green insect-like specimens who called themselves Sectoids.

The People of the Sky and the Sectoids lived harmoniously with each other, under their elegant Queen, Sectonia. Sectonia was a beautiful and gracious ruler, who valued kindness over everything else. She lived on the topmost island, named Royal Road, in a grand palace that overlooked the entire realm, even the lower world.

The Sectoids lived exclusively in Royal Road, where they guarded the Queen and served her every whim. The People of the Sky lived on the other islands, where they could interact with the other subjects under Queen Sectonia's rule. Only one of these floral ladies lived in Royal Road, and her name was Lily.

Lily, like her name suggested, had a white lily with four stamens growing on top of her head, and she was the unofficial leader of all of the People of the Sky. She wore an amulet with a pearl set in the middle, and she served as the ambassador to the other five islands' inhabitants, as Queen Sectonia never left Royal Road. Lily was also one of the Queen's most trusted advisors, second only to Taranza, Sectonia's best friend and most loyal servant.

The people of Floralia lived in utopian harmony under their most beloved Queen's rule. That is, until one fateful day...

* * *

"You wanted to see me, My Queen?" Lily bowed as she entered the Queen's private audience chamber, which was in reality a large balcony on the highest tower in Royal Road that overlooked the lower world, magically shielded from eavesdroppers.

"Yes...I understand Taranza is finally returning to us after being away for so long. When he last wrote to me, he said he had found a relic that would make Floralia more perfect, more harmonious. He wouldn't tell me what it is, but he sounded excited," the Queen said in Common, leaning over the balcony rail. While Lily and the rest of her species couldn't speak the Common tongue, they could understand it, and most of the other inhabitants of Floralia could understand them as well.

"Taranza is returning? Oh, this is wonderful news! I know you've missed him so," Lily beamed, happy for her Queen. Taranza was Sectonia's best friend, and she had missed him sorely in the six months he had been gone. He had left to search for the perfect gift for his Queen. Now, it sounded as if he had found it.

"Yes. I would like you to bring the five governors to my formal audience room at sunset. I would like for the others to see Taranza's mysterious gift," Sectonia nodded, finally turning to face Lily.

Her Queen was a tall, dark blue Antr, which was a species related to the Sectoids. She was bipedal, and was the only one of her species that had wings, albeit they were small and heart-shaped. Sectonia had large black, pupiless eyes, and wore a pink and purple-striped cape with a fluffy white collar. Her crown was made out of only the purest gold, and it had a blue crystal on top and a pink heart in the front. While the rest of her species carried clubs and shields, Sectonia had forgone both, preferring two swords and magical staffs, with no shield. She relied on her powerful magic to protect her.

"It shall be done, My Queen," Lily bowed, waiting for her dismissal.

"Excellent. You may see to it now." Sectonia turned to look at the sky once more, and wordlessly, Lily departed from the tower.

As Lily flew out of the Queen's private tower, she paused to bask in the morning sun. Being this high up in the sky, Royal Road received the most sunlight. After a moment, she looked down at the palace below.

Directly below her was the floating prison complex, where Sectonia's enemies were kept in separate dimensions, guarded closely by Sectoids and dangerous traps. Although, since the Queen had no enemies, the prison was more of a decoration than anything else, really.

Below the prison was the main palace, where Lily was off to now. The palace held the dining halls, kitchens, the throne room, and most importantly, the Sun Room. The Sun Room held Royal Road's Grand Sun Stone, which Lily would use to get to the other islands, as Floralia was like a flying archipelago. Although there was little grass in Royal Road, flowers grew in the most unlikely of places, from stone halls to the inner machinery of the palace.

On the ground level of Royal Road was the servants' quarters and town. Lily, being the liaison between the Sectoids and the rest of Floralia, lived in the actual palace, along with Taranza. Off to the left were the Miracle Fruit gardens and training grounds.

Lily floated down the path leading to the prison, and flew down the magical bridge that connected the prison and the main palace. She stepped off the bridge, and into the palace itself.

The reception hall was so grand, it took Lily five minutes to fly across it and into the room opposite the main hall. The walls were painted a deep lavender, and the floor was made of pink-and-purple striped tiles. Multiple corridors branched off from the main hall, and above the door Lily was heading to was a large stained-glass portrait of Queen Sectonia, looking regally down upon her. She reached the other side of the room, passing many Sectoids as they went about their duties, and entered the Sun Room.

It was a small room, built only for displaying the Grand Sun Stone to whomever needed it. Another portrait of Queen Sectonia greeted Lily as she closed the door and floated up to the pedestal that held the Grand Sun Stone.

Sun Stones were magical gems that held the power of the sun within them. They were scattered all over Floralia in order to promote the realm's growth. Each had a multi-faceted blue jewel embedded in the center, and were surrounded by six petals made of gold. They were about the size of Lily. Grand Sun Stones looked mostly the same, except that the petals were joined by green petals, and all of it was surrounded in blue crystal. A yellow ring encompassed the crystal, and eight points jutted out at regular intervals, making it look quite like a compass rose. Lily smiled as she took in the warmth of the Stone. Even though she was indoors, it still felt like the sun was shining down upon her.

She then grew serious, focusing on her quest. The Queen had asked her to gather the other five governors for the unveiling of Taranza's mysterious gift.

Since the Queen, the Antrs, and the Sectoids never left Royal Road, someone else had to watch over the other five islands. Five other People of the Sky governed the rest of Floralia, but ultimately Sectonia had the final say in what went on in the realm. The five governors brought their people's grievances to Lily, who passes them onto Sectonia, who then made her decision. It was an easy job, really, as peaceful Floralia was fortunate enough to have a kind and considering ruler.

Lily decided she would visit the lowest island, Fine Fields, first. That way she could work her way up to Royal Road and arrive home just in time for Taranza's return.

She put her hands on the Grand Sun Stone, and wished to be teleported to the Grand Sun Stone that lay in Fine Fields. A dull humming whirred through the room, and the Stone flashed with bright light, blinding Lily. When the glare died down, she was in the Fine Fields Sun Room.

Actually, 'room' was the wrong word for it. Lily found herself completely out in the open, on top of the tallest hill in all of Fine Fields. The Grand Sun Stone shone down on her from is simple-yet-elegant wooden pedestal. She blinked, looking around for Zinnia, the governor of Fine Fields.

She didn't have to look long. There, crossing the wooden bridge leading to the Sun 'Room', was Zinnia, who had just noticed Lily.

"Oh! Lily! Hi! I didn't know you were coming here! How've you been? Need anything to eat? Drink? Have you come to spend the night? Oh! You should see my hydrangeas, they've gotten _so_ big since you last came. Ooh, or have you come to take this month's expense report? Oh, gosh, I totally forgot to fill it out! Whoops. Oh well, you can-"

"Okay, settle down there. I'm here on Queen's business. ...Although, now that you mention it, it _is_ just about time I collect those reports," Lily interrupted Zinnia. You had to stop her before she _really_ got going.

"Oh. Okay then. What does the Queen want?" asked Zinnia, tilting her head.

Zinnia, like all People of the Sky, wore a grass dress and flower on her head. She had seven pink petals surrounding her face, and one small wisp of blonde hair swept across the left side of her forehead. Like all governors, Zinnia wore an amulet similar to Lily's, only the gemstone in the middle was made of rose zircon.

"Taranza's returning tonight with a mysterious tribute to the Queen. Queen Sectonia wants the six of us to see it," answered Lily.

"Ohhhh, he's finally coming home? That's awesome!" Zinnia beamed, clapping her hands in excitement. A dandelion suddenly burst into bloom beside them.

"Let me go and fill out the expense report real quick. It'll only be a second." she added, hurrying down to the wooden bridge. Lily followed closely behind.

Each of the six islands produced goods to be exported to the rest of the land. Fine Fields was mostly made of pastel hills and green plains with a few dense forests in the east, and it exported lumber and flowers, while Royal Road made laws.

"You know, you should really look into the Miracle Fruit crops up on your island. Another Miracle Fruit seed came tumbling down from Royal Road and into the tulip patches!" Zinnia admonished.

"Oh, another one? I'll do that, don't worry." Lily frowned, tucking the thought into the back of her mind.

It wasn't uncommon for Miracle Fruit seeds-the tall green plants were grown so close to the edge of Royal Road-to fall down onto the lower islands, but it became a huge nuisance for whoever had to go and retrieve the fallen seeds. The gold and red seeds reacted quite violently with whoever ate them, giving the victim enhanced inhaling powers. Last year, a Scarfy in Lollipop Land had consumed one of the fruits and almost inhaled an entire circus tent. _That_ had been a huge mess for Lily to deal with. Floralians tried to get rid of any seeds they came across, but there were probably still dozens to be found at any given time. Yes, Lily would try and get the plants to not be grown so precariously close to the edge of the island of Royal Road.

Zinnia led her down the bridge and to her elegant cabin on the northernmost side of the hill. It was made of gray stone, but you could hardly see it, as flowers and ivy covered most of the structure. There was even a small redwood sapling starting to grow on the roof. Zinnia led Lily inside, where the scent of lavender greeted the royal ambassador.

The cabin was smaller than Lily expected, but looked cozy. It held a small bathroom, an office, a kitchen, a living room, and one master bedroom. While Zinnia could have easily commissioned a more larger and technologically-advanced home for herself, she preferred to adapt to the country life, and did not consider herself better than the rest of her island's inhabitants. It was this humbleness, combined with Zinnia's friendly personality that made her so popular in Fine Fields.

Zinnia went into her office, which held only a large mahogany desk that was overflowing with papers, and started filling out this month's report.

"Ah, where are those import/export figures?" Zinnia muttered, searching her cluttered desk.

"Right here." said a new voice. Lily turned, and watched as a Person of the Sky entered the office and handed Zinnia the desired papers.

This newcomer, like all but six of the People of the Sky, had a small magenta bud ringed with white growing on her head. She did not wear an amulet, as she was just a regular citizen. The magenta bud meant she had not yet mastered the magic that was the People of the Sky's birthright.

Their magic mainly consisted of growing plants at unnatural speeds and creating objects out of thin air, but they could also open doors and carry objects far heavier than them. It was simple magic, but it took a lot of mental strength and concentration. Most People of the Sky either did not have the talent or the mental durability. Most People of the Sky could only create a Warp Star, and that was about it. And as for those who did have the right qualities, it normally took decades for them to conquer their gifts. Only Lily and the five governors had mastered their magic. One of the side-effects of this was random flowers growing in the oddest of places. It was likely that the flowers in Royal Road were caused by Lily's extensive presence there. Mastering their magic also meant that the buds on their heads bloomed, as a symbol of full maturity.

"Oh, thank you, Blossom," Zinnia nodded at the young lass. To Lily, she added, "This is Blossom. I've hired her as my assistant. She's really good at her job and helps keep track of where I put all my things, because you _know_ I can never keep things straight. I swear, if my head wasn't attached to me I'd definitely forget it. I don't even know how I keep track of my hands. I even forget where I put my own amulet! Like this one time where I lost my amulet, and it turned out to be hidden-"

"I get the picture," interrupted Lily. Blossom gazed at her curiously.

"You're Lily, aren't you? You live in Royal Road," the younger girl said.

"That's right," Lily nodded.

"I want to be like you someday. I would love to live in the palace," Blossom said adamantly. A smile began to tug at Lily's face.

"Well, working for Zinnia is a good place to start. A few more years of hard work like this, and you'll definitely be noticed by someone. And who knows? Maybe the Queen will ask you to be her personal accountant." Lily smiled at her. Blossom's eyes went wide at the thought.

"Here you arrrrrreeeee!" sang Zinnia, handing a packet of papers to Lily. "950 tons of lumber exported to the other islands, 45 bushels of roses exported to Wild World, 39 bushels of daisies exported to Lollipop Land, 65 bushels-"

"Thank you for the summary, but I'll read it when before I go to bed tonight. I need to get to the other four islands as soon as possible," interrupted Lily, tucking the sheets of paper under her arm.

"Aw, alright. I'll see you later," Zinnia frowned.

"Goodbye, Zinnia and Blossom," Lily nodded in farewell as she began to exit Zinnia's cabin.

"Want me to walk you to the Grand Sun Stone?" Zinnia's voice piped up from her office.

"No, thank you." Lily called back as she closed Zinnia's front door.

Recalling the way back to the Grand Sun Stone, Lily followed the dirt path that spiraled around the hill until she found a fork in the road. The path on the left led upwards and to a wooden bridge, and the path to the right led down into the heart of Fine Fields. Lily remembered crossing a wooden bridge to get to Zinnia's house, so she took the path on the left. When she got to the top of the hill, she paused and turned to look down at the island.

In the valleys below, smaller hills that were covered in pastel patches of color swept across the landscape. To Lily's left, a dense, verdant forest grew. Everywhere else was covered in either flower fields or small woods that would soon be turned to lumber. Most of the place was covered in lime green grass. A crisp breeze ran through the island, and the puffy clouds were striped in both gray and white.

Seeing enough, Lily turned to the pedestal that held the Grand Sun Stone. She floated towards it, passing a large, lone daisy as she did so. The second-lowest island was called Lollipop Land, and it manufactured desserts and toys. Most of the landscape was made of candy and other sugary delights. Many of the inhabitants considered it to be one giant, eternal carnival. There was even a haunted house attraction over in the northeastern part of the island. The soft-spoken Person of the Sky who governed the island, Sunny, was a quiet introvert and thankfully less talkative than Zinnia. Where Zinnia liked to garden as well as govern, Sunny was an artist, and even lived in an art gallery on Mt. Chocolate, the tallest landmark in all of Lollipop Land. And yes, it was made of actual chocolate.

Lily put on hand on the Grand Sun Stone, and wished to be in Lollipop Land. The Stone flashed brightly, once again blinding her. When the glare died down enough for her to see again, she was elsewhere.

* * *

The combined smells of paint and chocolate was the first thing that told her she was in Lollipop Land, or more specifically, she was in what appeared to be an old storage room in Sunny's art museum.

While the Grand Sun Stone was seated on a marble pedestal, it was surrounded by unopened cans of paint and canvases of various size. Paintbrushes lay haphazardly around the room. Lily frowned. This was no way to treat the Grand Sun Stone.

She exited the room just in time to bump into someone. Her papers went flying all over the floor.

"Oh! So sorry about that," Lily looked up to see a Person of the Sky hastily leaning down to pick up the fallen sheets of paper. This one looked exactly like Blossom, only her skin was a shade darker and her voice much higher.

"Don't worry about it," Lily shook her head, accepting the papers from the Person of the Sky.

"Oh, you must be Lily. Sunny told me you might be stopping by soon for this month's expense report. I'm Flora. I'll take you to Sunny now." the woman said, leading Lily through the art gallery. It was a grand and quiet place, with paintings by various artists strung up all over the walls. Giant windows let in sunlight, and Lily could see the sugary land below as she passed by them.

Lollipop Land was centered around fun. The entire landscape was naturally made of dessert, and one of the main exports was toys made in the factories that dotted the land. The roads were made of wafers lined with meringues and gumdrops, and the clouds were even shaped and colored like donuts. The flowers here were made of gelatin, and it was not uncommon for ice cream to form on top of the mountains in the wintertime. The buildings and factories on this island were made with an odd combination of building blocks and dominoes. Special jigsaw puzzle pieces were also used in construction, and they usually made up factory walls and ladders. The factories mainly manufactured puzzles, but also created giant toy rockets and humongous toy cars, along with the usual dolls and board games. At the base of Mt. Chocolate was the circus, where patrons could experience a fun house year-round. Inhabitants of this island were very hedonistic.

Flora led Lily up a flight of stairs that led to the featured-works room. Paintings in this place were considered to be the best of the best of all time, and it was rumored that one of them could even come to life, with the right magic. Flora knocked on the grand mahogany doors and gestured for Lily to enter.

There, at her worktable, was Sunny, the governor of Lollipop Land.

Sunny had seven sunflower petals surrounding her face, and orange hair that tapered into a widow's peak could be seen on her forehead. Her amulet's gem was made of solid gold.

She looked up at Flora's knock, busily eating taffy. Sunny was a bit of a glutton, and who could blame her, since she was constantly surrounded by dessert?

"Oh, Lily. Hello." she said shyly, spotting the two. She dismissed Flora with a wave of her hand, and the Person of the Sky bowed and left the room. Lily flew to the center of the room, admiring the paintings.

To the far left was a painting of a Waddle Dee so realistic, she was sure it had been photographed instead. Then there was a portrait of a Person of the Sky with a daffodil growing on her head. To the far right was a painting of Lollipop Land's landscape, and to the left of that one was a painting of a Nidoo surprising a Noddy in the fun house. Surrounding all these works were shelves full of art books and paint cans. But in the center was The Painting.

The Painting was of a feminine-looking creature with pink hair, a large red hat, a red coat, and two paintbrushes for legs. This was the magical painting that could supposedly be brought to life.

"I heard that the artist who created her gave her a sister, but I couldn't find that painting anywhere. I guess it was just a rumor," Sunny said through a mouthful of taffy, joining Lily to stare at Her.

"Maybe she escaped from her painting," suggested Lily.

"That's true. Maybe the lost sister _does_ exist," Sunny agreed. She turned to face Lily. "I have the expense reports in the top left drawer. I knew you'd be visiting me soon."

Lily went over to the candy wrapper-covered desk, where she noticed that Sunny was currently working on a strikingly-lifelike portrait of a Blipper swimming through algae. She didn't say anything about it, though, knowing that Sunny would be highly embarrassed and essentially shut down. So, she opened the top-left drawer and took out the desired papers.

"Thanks for putting this all together in such a timely fashion, Sunny. I really appreciate it. Before I go, I have a message from the Queen: come to Royal Road at sundown. Taranza's returning home with a gift, and she wants the six of us to see it," Lily said, turning back to the yellow lady.

"O-oh. Okay." Sunny said shyly, looking down at the floor. Sensing that Sunny was reaching the end of her social limit, Lily bid her a hasty farewell and headed back to the Grand Sun Stone Room. She would have admonished Sunny for the disrespect to the Stone, but then Sunny would be too embarrassed to come to the palace tonight. That conversation could wait another day.

Lily entered the Sun Room, put her hands on the Stone, and wished to be in the next island.

* * *

The next island was a mountainous land called Old Odyssey. The southwest was mainly country, but as you progressed further east it slowly got more higher until the complete northeast was covered in snowy mountains. The countryside grew food for the rest of Floralia. Giant crops grew here, where they were then harvested and cut into much smaller pieces. Train tracks littered the lower parts, and there were a few small forests here and there towards the center of the island. Once you began climbing the icy peaks, however, you could see multicolored streams of water falling down into the lower parts of the land. This special water gave the entire realm of Floralia its colors. Old Odyssey produced crops and color for the rest of the floating archipelago.

The Person of the Sky who governed this land was Lily's second-least-favorite of all the governors. Rose was a lazy procrastinator who never completed anything on time. She was highly laid-back, and didn't see the need for working hard. She lived in a grand castle high up in the north, where she often spent her days 'meditating' and 'brainstorming' under the stars. In reality, Rose wasted time doing nothing. If Rose actually had the expense reports already filled out, Lily would eat her amulet.

Old Odyssey's Sun Room lay in the main hall of the castle, providing the only light source in the entire room. The ceiling was made of glass, so the floor above would benefit from the Sun Stone's light as well.

Lily headed for the stairwell, knowing exactly where to go. Rose was almost always sitting on top of one of the walkways connecting the parapets whenever Lily visited.

Sure enough, there, lying on a blanket with her eyes closed, was Rose.

Rose had an upside-down red rose on her head. A small green bud lay at the top of her head, and four red petals grew down her face. Her left eye was completely covered by one of her petals, and the gem in her amulet was made of ruby. She made no move whatsoever as Lily approached.

Lily cleared her throat meaningfully. Rose did not move. Lily coughed loudly. Still, Rose did not move, or even open her eyes. Lily grew impatient.

"Rose, wake up!" she shouted.

"I _am_ awake. And I _was_ in the middle of some serious critical thinking when you interrupted me!" Rose said, finally waking up and levitating to match Lily's height.

"Sure, and I'm the Queen of Floralia," mocked Lily.

"I'm serious! I was _trying_ to think of a way to double our sales by next quarter. I was just about to have a eureka moment when you came in and made me lose my train of thought," stormed Rose. Lily sighed impatiently.

"Whatever. Do you have your expense reports filled out?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"No. We're, like, a few more days away from harvesting an entire plantation's worth of giant carrots. I was going to fill them all out when the carrots were ready," Rose shook her head.

"Meaning you saw a way to get out of doing work and you're taking it," translated Lily.

" _Meaning_ I want to be as accurate as possible, since you're always griping at me for putting the correct numbers on everything. Now, I will have your report ready in three days. Until then, I would _like_ some peace and quiet during my meditation time!" yelled Rose, bristling in annoyance.

Inwardly, Lily sighed. She hated yelling at Rose, but it was pretty much the only way to get her to actually _do_ something.

"I believe you. Oh, and I also have a message from the Queen. Taranza's returning tonight at sunset, and Her Majesty wants us six there," she said, more kindly this time. Rose began to relax.

"Now _that_ I definitely won't miss. Am I the last one you've visited?" the red woman asked.

"No, I still have to tell Iris and Violet. I'm visiting Iris next," Lily said, feeling a headache coming on. Out of all the People of the Sky, Iris hated Lily the most. And she did not hide it. Dealing with Iris often made Lily want to gouge out her own eyes.

"Ooh, I'm sorry. You should get going, if you want to make it back home in time," Rose sympathized, looking up at the sky. It was afternoon already.

"Yeah. Well, see you tonight." Lily agreed, then hurried back down to the Sun Room.

* * *

The next island Lily arrived at was Wild World. This island was mostly made up of untamed jungle, with ancient ruins scattered all across the land. There was an old haunted mansion to the south, and in the north lay archaic pyramids. Ancient People of the Sky built these temples in times past, and they were full of treasure, traps, and _tons_ of sand. There was absolutely _no_ technology at all in this land. Everything was hand-made-even the traps in the pyramids, which was admittedly a neat trick-and that was the way the governor, Iris, liked it.

Iris was a conservative, by-the-books archaeologist who valued tradition and the ancient ways over everything else. She _loathed_ new ideas and technology with every fiber of her being, and since Lily was nothing _but_ new ideas and lived in the most advanced island in all of Floralia, she was not Iris' favorite person. And the feeling was mutual. Iris sought to oppose almost _everything_ Lily did. Iris was often conveniently away at some new dig whenever Lily came calling for her island's expense report, which were always completely filled out, minus the governor's signature. So, Lily often had to wait hours-or in a few instances, _days-_ before Iris came back to sign the papers. Iris was so dedicated to history that she even lived in the temple devoted to Deusanguis in the far north, surrounded by palm trees.

Deusanguis was the People of the Sky's god, and they believed he was their creator. According to their legend, Deusanguis was the father of all snakes. He was a giant serpent, and the People of the Sky believed all snakes today were distantly related to him. He created snakes who could function on land, and even in the sea, but he could not create a snake that could fly like he could. The closest he could come to was creating a species that could glide through the air. So, Deusanguis created the first People of the Sky out of flowers from a flower field. These beings could fly alongside him, enjoying the feeling of nothingness all around them. When Deusanguis left ancient Floralia for other worlds, he gave the People of the Sky their special magic. That is why today they worshipped snakes vehemently; to them, snakes were their distant brothers and sisters.

Lily appeared in Wild World's Sun Room, which looked exactly the same as it had 500 years ago. How could Lily tell? There was dust _everywhere_ , so thick that Lily couldn't even tell what the original color of the room was. Once she had tried asking Iris to clean the room, but Iris had fumed that such a task would chip away the paint on the walls, and did Lily _want_ to invoke Deusanguis' wrath at having his temple desecrated?

People of the Sky gazed curiously at Lily as she floated through the ancient, dust-covered temple that had sand constantly leaking from the ceiling, but did not say anything to her as they flitted to and from the other rooms, scrolls in hands. Wild World produced many talented writers, and books were the one and only export here. Historians were highly praised in this land.

Lily entered Iris' study, which doubled as the main worship room to Deusanguis. There, wrapped around one of the support pillars, was a statue of Deusanguis himself. He had a triangle-like head, a segmented body, and a rattle on his tail. And there, seated at a large oak table directly below the statue, was Iris.

Iris had two blue petals growing down the sides of her face, and one large blue petal covering her forehead. On the top of her head grew a hibiscus-like flower. Her amulet's gem was made of sapphire. She was also covered in dust and dirt, but she was busily scribbling something down onto a scroll using a quill and ink. This was normal; Iris must have just returned from an expedition to some ruin out in the jungle. She often forgo baths in lieu of writing reports.

Lily took a deep breath, and floated over.

"Hello, Iris," she said cordially, stopping a few feet away from Iris' desk. She could hear Iris huff in annoyance.

"What do you want, Lily? I'm busy," Iris replied curtly, still writing things down.

"I came for the expense reports, and I have a message from the Queen," Lily answered, determined to keep this meeting as cordial as possible. At the mention of the Queen, Iris jerked, and so did her writing hand. Her hand knocked into her inkwell, causing it to spill. With a curse, Iris cast about for something to mop up the ink.

"What does the Queen want?" asked Iris as she found a moth-eaten towel in one of her desk's drawers. She began to mop up the ink.

"Taranza's returning tonight at sunset with a gift for Her Majesty. She wishes the six of us there to see it," reported Lily, watching Iris. She knew better than to offer to help. Last time she did, Iris chewed her out for 'thinking she was incapable of doing such a simple task'. Although the next time Lily did not offer her help, Iris yelled at her for being 'so high and mighty that she couldn't bother to help a member of her own species'. Lily couldn't win.

"Oh, yes, how could I forget? The Queen's right-hand man always gifts her with something each year. What did he bring?" Iris nodded in approval.

"He wouldn't say." shrugged Lily. Iris' eyes sparked with annoyance, but Lily knew she was secretly excited at the prospect of an unknown treasure being given to Queen Sectonia. Iris would come to the meeting in the end.

Iris was silent for a long while as she finished cleaning up the spill.

"I'll give you your report tonight," she said finally. Lily grinned.

"Thank you, and I look forward to seeing you there." Lily said as she turned to leave. Iris grunted and began to ignore her.

Lily flew back to the Sun Room, thankful that this audience with Iris hadn't ended in a shouting match like it so often did. Iris must have found something _really_ ancient if she was actually being cordial to Lily. With Wild World down, that only left the fifth island's governor, Violet, to be told of the Queen's message.

Bracing herself for the harsh environment that was to come, Lily placed her hand on the Grand Sun Stone, and wished herself to be in Endless Explosions.

* * *

Endless Explosions, like the name suggested, was nothing but volcano after volcano. The heat was unbearable, but this environment was the only place that produced enough heat to create the technology that made up Royal Road, or the steam power needed to make pretty almost everything else in Floralia. Factories here made gears and steel walls for Royal Road, everything paint-related for Lollipop Land, skis and trains for Old Odyssey, and axes and gardening tools for Fine Fields (Iris had an embargo on Endless Explosions, preferring to have her island make everything by hand). Gem mines also littered the island, and so did a lot of tough species, having been adapted to this unforgiving environment.

The governor of this island, Violet, lived at the top of an active volcano in the center of the island. It was at the base of this very volcano where Lily now found herself in.

The Grand Sun Stone's pedestal was situated at the base of Violet's volcano. A cable car hung precariously above her head, so land-bound creatures could have an easy ride up to the top of the mountain. Lily flew over the cable car and up the volcano. _She_ had no reason to use something meant for those who couldn't fly like she could.

After a few minutes, she finally reached the top of the mountain, where she could see Violet wrestling with a Bonkers while a red Pyribbit watched nearby.

Violet put the Bonkers in a chokehold, and after a few seconds, it mimed waving a white flag. Immediately, Violet released it, grinning.

"Maybe next time, Bonkers," she consoled it as it shuffled down the mountain with its mallet, humiliated. She noticed Lily floating nearby, and her grin broadened.

"Yo, Lily! Whassup?" she laughed, beckoning Lily over.

Violet had two large purple petals covering the sides of her face, like Iris, but the petal in the front completely covered her eyes. How Violet could see, Lily never knew. A green bud lay at the top of her head as well, and her amulet's gem was made of amethyst. Violet lived in a small brick hut near the eastern edge of the top of the volcano. Stone covered most of the peak, but a large lava lake bubbled to Lily's left.

The Pyribbit next to Violet croaked at Lily.

"Now, Muffins, be nice. This is Lily. She's a friend," Violet admonished it.

"...You named a Pyribbit ' _Muffins'_?" Lily raised an eyebrow as she cautiously approached the fiery frog.

"Yes, and isn't he the cutest little thing? Oh who's a good boy? _Who's a good boy?_ " Violet gushed, scratching Muffins' belly. The Pyribbit began thumping his left foot vigorously in happiness as Violet continued scratching his belly.

"...Anyways, whatcha up to? Same old same old?" Violet continued after a few moments of petting her pet Pyribbit. Muffins hopped into the lava lake, where he began doing laps around the edge.

"Kind of. Do you have your monthly reports ready for me?" asked Lily, watching Muffins swim.

"Not yet. I'm waiting on a late delivery from Old Odyssey. You know how Rose is. I'll get it to ya in a day or two," Violet shook her head.

"Alright, that's fine. I have a message from Her Majesty,"

"Ooh, lay it on me,"

"Come to the palace at sunset tonight. Taranza's returning," Lily told her.

"He is? Awesome!" grinned Violet, throwing her hands into the air in celebration. "I'll totally be there! ...Wait, that means I have to leave Muffins all by himself. Aww," Violet paused in her celebration, pouting.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Lily said awkwardly, not really knowing what else to say. Violet sighed.

"Yeah, I guess. So are the other governors gonna be there too? Even...Iris?" Violet made a face. Iris and Violet hated each other almost as much as Lily and Iris did. At least Iris _tried_ to be respectful to Violet.

"Yeah," Lily muttered, not liking the thought either.

"Ugh. Maybe it's best if I don't bring Muffins then. I can just hear her telling me that a Pyribbit does not belong in the Queen's own palace, yadda yadda yadda. Sometimes I _really_ want to reach over and smack her. That'd be fun," Violet mused.

"Please don't say that in front of me. I'd have to report it," sighed Lily.

"Kidding, kidding. Yeah, I'll be there. ...Oh, you'd better get going yourself. It's almost sunset!" Violet exclaimed, looking up at the sky. How she could tell time with her eyes covered was a mystery. Lily looked up at the sky as well, and blanched as she saw Violet was right. She had an hour left before the meeting!

"I have to go back home! Violet, I'll see you in an hour. It was nice meeting Muffins," Lily said hurriedly, hastily flying down the volcano and over to the Grand Sun Stone.

As fast as she could, Lily placed her the hand that wasn't holding the expense reports onto the Stone, and pleaded to be back in Royal Road.

* * *

One hour later, Lily met the other five ambassadors in the Queen's formal meeting room. This room held only a large white table that could seat up to thirty people. The chairs were made out of the finest mahogany, while the chair at the very end of the table was made out of solid gold, and was shaped like a heart. Something large was covered by a cloth in the back of the room.

Lily began to hurry to her seat at the Queen's left-hand side when the sound of the grand oak doors opening once more made her turn.

There, entering the room, was Taranza, who had finally came home after months of being away.

Taranza had six white-and-orange gloved hands that were also not attached to his body. His small body was dark brown, and his only his eyes ever changed expression on his face. He had short grayish-white hair that had two yellow eye-like markings in the front. He had two orange horns with yellow tips. He wore a red scarf, and had on green clothing with two gray buttons and red markings on it. He also wore a green cape rimmed with orange that had a spider-web design on it. He had no legs, and traveled by levitation, although he did not utilize the sun's energy like the People of the Sky did.

"Taranza!" Lily exclaimed, briefly forgetting herself and hugging him tightly. She had missed her closest friend here in Royal Road. It simply had not been the same without him.

"Lily!" Taranza beamed, hugging her back. The other five People of the Sky all clamored to greet him. "Hello, hello, everyone! It's so good to see you again. I've missed you all so much," Taranza said, briefly hugging everyone but Iris, who settled for a handshake.

Lily gestured to the thing covered by the cloth.

"Is that the gift you're giving to the Queen?" She asked.

"Yes! It's a magical device called the Dimension Mirror. It'll allow Her Majesty to see just how truly beautiful she really is. Wanna see?" beamed Taranza, going over to the mirror and uncovering the cloth.

The Dimension Mirror was surrounded by gold angelic wings on the left and right sides. A crown-like decoration lay at the top of the mirror, and the four corners of it were marked with gold stars.

"Oh, it's perfect," Lily said in a soft voice. The mirror seemed to enhance the viewer's appearance. Did her petals really sparkle and shine like that? Did she really have such adorable dimples? She found it hard to tear her gaze away from the mirror, and part of her wanted to raise a protest as Taranza covered it once more.

"I think so too," he nodded, just as Queen Sectonia herself entered the room.

"What's all this? Taranza?" she asked, gazing around the room. Taranza bowed deeply.

"My Queen, I have a gift for you…"

* * *

 **A/N: According to the game's developer, Sectonia really was once an Antr. Who knew? Also, I couldn't find a name for the green insect things that plague Royal Road, so I made up a name for them. Anyway, this fic will unfortunately be updated only a couple times a month, if that. I'll be juggling both school and another fic, which is my 'main' project. This one is a sort of side project. Even so, I'll see you in the next chapter, whenever that may be!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN KIRBY.**


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